Category: Latest Travel News

Geneva, Switzerland, June 4, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged governments to make data-driven decisions to manage the risks of COVID-19 when reopening borders to international travel. Strategies without quarantine measures can enable international travel to restart with a low risk of introduction of COVID-19 to the travel destination.

• For trusted health travel information and latest vaccines status and updates, go to HealthTravelPlanner.com

“Data can and should drive policies on restarting global travel that manage COVID-19 risks to protect populations, revive livelihoods and boost economies. We call on the G7 governments meeting later this month to agree on the use of data to safely plan and coordinate the return of the freedom to travel which is so important to people, livelihoods and businesses,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Vaccinated Travelers

Evidence continues to show that vaccination protects travelers from serious illness and death, and carries a low risk of introducing the virus into destination countries:

• The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) concluded that vaccinated travelers are no longer significant in the spread of the disease and do not pose a major risk to the German population.
•  The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) issued interim guidance on the benefits of full vaccination stating that “the likelihood of an infected vaccinated person transmitting the disease is currently assessed to be very low to low.”
• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) stated that “with a 90% effective vaccine, pre-travel testing, post-travel testing, and 7-day self-quarantine provide minimal additional benefit.”
• The Canadian Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel recommends that vaccinated travelers do not need to be quarantined.
• A Public Health England study has concluded that two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against COVID-19 variants of concern.

Testing for Unvaccinated Travelers

A challenge is the potential of barriers to travel for unvaccinated people which would create an unacceptable exclusion. Data from the UK NHS regarding international travelers arriving in the UK (with no reference to vaccination status) shows that the vast majority of travelers pose no risk for the introduction of COVID-19 cases after arrival.

• Between 25 February and 5 May 2021, 365,895 tests were conducted on arriving passengers to the UK. These were PCR negative before travel. Only 2.2% tested positive for COVID-19 infection during universal quarantine measures after their arrival. Of these, over half were from “red list” countries, which were considered very high risk. Removing them from the statistics would result in test positivity of 1.46%.
• Of the 103,473 arrivals from the EU (excluding Ireland), 1.35% tested positive. Three countries, Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, accounted for 60% of the positive cases.

“Many governments continue to require universal quarantine—either hotel-managed or self-managed. This impedes the freedom of movement, discourages international travel and destroys employment in the travel and tourism sector. Data from the UK tells us that we can and must do better. Almost 98% of those detained because of universal quarantine measures tested negative for the virus. We now have more than a year of global data that can help governments make more targeted decisions on international travel. This can keep the risk of importing COVID-19 cases low—including variants of concern—while restarting international travel with minimal infringement on the ability to live normal work and social lives. Importantly, lives that include travel,” said Walsh.

IATA teamed-up with Airbus and Boeing to demonstrate potential methodologies to manage the risks of COVID-19 to keep populations safe while restarting global connectivity. Aviation, including manufacturers, effectively manages and mitigates risk every day to keep air travel safe. Using these skills, Airbus and Boeing have developed data-driven risk-management models to understand the impact of various options.

Airbus Modeled Whole Journey Risk

Focusing on risks across the whole journey, Airbus considered more than 50 variables (such as number of confirmed cases and fatalities per country, COVID-19 testing strategies, traffic statistics, flight length, time spent in airport terminals, provision of on-board catering and air conditioning) in its model. Assumptions for the model are based on over a dozen data sources (including US CDC and the World Health Organization). And results of the model were cross referenced against data collections from actual results and observations from travel. Using current COVID-19 incidence data and not making any consideration for vaccinated travelers (which would only lower the risk of infections), example findings include:

• High to medium incidence – Latin America & Caribbean (292 cases/100,000 population) to Canada (95 cases/100,000 population): Assuming the same traffic as in 2019 and without any testing, we expect that the local incidence in Canada would increase by just over 1 case / 100,000 population due to the imported cases over 14 days. With a single PCR test before travel, this number falls to less than 1 case/100,000 population.
• Medium to medium incidence –  Europe (111 cases/100,000 population) to US (81 cases/100,000 population): Assuming the same traffic as in pre-COVID-19 and without any testing, the Airbus model predicts that air travel over 14 days would add less than 1 imported case/100,000 population to the local incidence in the US.
• Medium to low incidence –  Europe (111 cases of COVID-19/100,000 population) to Singapore (8 cases/100,000 population): Conservatively assuming the same traffic as in 2019 and without any testing, we predict that over 14 days air travel would add over 1 imported case/100,000 population to the local incidence in Singapore. With a PCR test before travel, this number falls to less than 1.

The Airbus model—designed to support government stakeholders to reopen air travel—demonstrates that the risk of virus transmission and translocation can be significantly reduced by adopting data-driven screening and protection measures.

• For trusted health travel information and latest vaccines status and updates, go to HealthTravelPlanner.com

Boeing Modeled the Efficacy of Testing Strategies

Boeing modeling and analysis shows screening protocols offer an alternative to mandatory quarantines for many travel scenarios. The model evaluates the effectiveness of passenger screenings and quarantines in countries around the world. It accounts for various factors including COVID-19 prevalence rates between origin and destination countries, the efficacy of PCR and rapid antigen tests, and the disease timeline (how the disease progresses) for passengers traveling with COVID-19.

The modeling revealed several key findings:

• Data show there are screening protocols (noted below) as effective as a 14-day quarantine
• Screening protocols lower the risk to the destination country
• Screening is most beneficial for travel from higher to lower prevalence areas

The passenger screening model and findings were validated using actual travel testing data from Iceland and Canada. Boeing is now modeling scenarios with vaccinated travelers. As data on new COVID-19 variants becomes available, it will also be incorporated in the model.

Data-Driven Decisions

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution to manage the various levels of risk. The economic and social cost of the blanket measures taken by most governments to date has been unnecessarily high. With this modeling, we are demonstrating that we can be smart with calibrated travel policies that address the risks, enable travel, and protect people. Everybody can respect a data-driven decision. That is the way back to normality,” said Walsh.

No single government action can drive a recovery for international travel. The G20 Tourism Ministers endorsed a data-driven approach to reopening borders. The aviation industry is encouraging the G7 to take leadership by agreeing to work together to use the enormous amounts of data collected since the start of COVID-19 to drive a recovery effort. Critically that must restore the freedom to travel for tested or vaccinated persons while avoiding quarantine measures for the vast majority of travelers.

Cooperation to Protect the Healthcare System

Industry risk-management expertise can help the public health sector manage a return toward normality.

“COVID-19 is something that we need to learn to manage, like we do other risks to health. We accept many things in society that we know come with risks—from consuming alcoholic beverages to how we drive. We don’t ban these activities. We have some common-sense rules and the information needed to make sensible decisions about how to manage these risks. The post-pandemic future means doing the same for COVID-19 so we can all get on with our lives. There is no completely risk-free protocol. Vaccination will play a big role. And the data we have tells us that screening and testing protocols can make travel safely accessible for all,” said Walsh.

“Government policies are naturally risk averse. By contrast, the private sector has great experience in managing risks every day to deliver its products and services. COVID-19 now appears to be becoming endemic. This means that COVID-19 is not likely to disappear anytime soon, so governments and industry must work together to rebuild global connectivity while managing the associated risks. The first step is for governments to evaluate the threshold of risk of virus introduction that they can effectively manage. Then they need to identify with industry feasible strategies to enable an increase in international travel without exceeding those thresholds. Airbus, Boeing and IATA have demonstrated some possible solutions. Now we need more intense and transparent dialogue between governments and the airline industry to move from models to policy and ultimately facilitate international travel,” said Professor David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

London, United Kingdom, June 4, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The UK risks becoming increasingly isolated if it continues to keep the doors closed to significant international travel, says the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). Data shows forward bookings for international travel lag behind increased capacity by airlines gearing up for more ‘green list’ countries. WTTC calls for all fully vaccinated Brits to be able to travel freely to other countries with similar and higher vaccination levels as the UK. UK is losing its competitive edge created by the early vaccination rollout as Europe opens ahead of the UK, which continues its overcautious approach.

• Read all the latest WTTC News and Updates here.

The warning from WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, comes as figures reveal that forward bookings for international flights are lagging far behind the increased capacity generated by extra flights scheduled.

Airlines have dramatically increased flights to popular holiday destinations – many of which are still on the government’s ‘amber list’ – in anticipation of increased demand.

According to travel data and analytics expert Cirium, in the two weeks following the start of the government’s new traffic light system for travel on May 17, scheduled flights from the UK to Greece soared by over 2,000%, with a 435% rise in flights to Spain, compared to two weeks before.

However, while airlines have been ramping up capacity, analysis of recent ticket sales by WTTC’s knowledge partner ForwardKeys, shows this hasn’t been matched by bookings.

On average during the week of 14 May, airline ticket sales from the UK to Greece and Spain fell 37 per cent and 44 per cent respectively week on week.

Data shows at the end of last month, there were more tickets being cancelled than new bookings being made, while British holidaymakers expressed disappointment over the UK government’s green list and expensive testing and quarantine requirements for travel to ‘amber’ list countries.

While ticket sales remain sluggish for the immediate future, indications are that there looks to be more positive news on the horizon with significantly more tickets recorded being sold for flights later this month and into July.

But WTTC concerns over the lack of inbound travellers to the UK is causing as much damage to the UK’s Travel & Tourism sector as has the collapse of outbound tourism to holiday hotspots around Europe and beyond.

Virginia Messina, WTTC Senior Vice President, said: “WTTC is calling upon the government to allow all those who are fully vaccinated, or can show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, to travel freely.

“We are seeing many countries, particularly those in the EU, allowing travellers that have been vaccinated or can show a negative test result, which will provide a boost to their economies in such a pivotal time.

“We should use our hard-earned competitive advantage from one of the world’s best vaccine rollout programmes, with nearly 40% of the population now fully vaccinated, to restore mobility and reopen the doors to safe international travel.

“To do otherwise would squander the UK’s incredible vaccine achievement and could mean the government’s aspiration of a new era of ‘Global Britain’ following the Brexit vote would remain just that.

“The UK’s Travel & Tourism sector was one of the hardest hit with its contribution to GDP falling 62% compared to the global average of 49%. However, we can save it and the millions of jobs which depend upon the sector if we act immediately and allow the safe return of international travel.”

WTTC has argued the UK should switch to a more risk-based approach and include more of those countries with a similar low infection rate, and with advanced vaccination rollouts, on the controversial ‘green list’. This should include the US, a move that could unlock transatlantic travel, which is critical to both economies.

• Read all the latest WTTC News and Updates here.

Many countries across the EU such as Spain and Italy are capitalising on the UK’s incredible vaccine rollout by announcing they are opening their doors to British travellers. However, whilst these countries remain on the UK’s ‘amber list’, holidays to these destinations will be unaffordable for many, due to the high cost of the PCR tests needed by Brits when arriving back in the UK.

The global tourism body has long advocated that a combination of vaccines, testing, digital health passes and health and safety protocols, can safely unlock international travel.

The 2021 Economic Impact Report (EIR) recently released by WTTC highlighted the UK’s fall from fifth to eighth place among the world’s biggest Travel & Tourism markets in 2020, after suffering a punishing 62.5% collapse in the sector’s contribution towards the country’s GDP.

London, United Kingdom, June 4, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Virginia Messina, WTTC Senior Vice President, said: “We welcome the OECD initiative to safely restart international travel under their proposed framework, which give countries the flexibility to lower or raise their health protection measures while coordinating their responses within the international community.

“We also want to congratulate the Spanish for taking the lead to spearhead this initiative which provides a firm foundation for future global consistency and will be key in the fight against the pandemic and safely reviving international travel.

“WTTC was delighted to participate in its development, and we are pleased that the importance of the private sector having a seat at the table has been recognised, bringing our own unique perspectives and suggestions for action for debate to enable the resumption of mobility.

“We hope to see many Member States swiftly adopt this less restrictive blueprint model proposed by the OECD which could save the global Travel & Tourism sector and provide a vital boost to the world’s economic recovery.”

Cancun, Mexico, June 4, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest hotel franchising company with over 8,900 hotels across nearly 95 countries, today unveiled its 21^st brand, Registry Collection Hotels, adding a luxury offering to the upper end of the Company’s growing brand portfolio while further advancing its mission to make hotel travel possible for all.

Tralee, Ireland, June 3, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Ranked in the world’s top hotels, third generation hotelier Padraig McGillicuddy and the team at Ballygarry House, are always striving to improve their offering for all guests. As such, they have launched a stunning vision for the property over the next three years.

Central to this vision is the extension of the hotel grounds to over one hundred and eighty acres, which will realign the hotel as one of Ireland’s leading estate properties.

• See the World’s Best Luxury Hotels here.

This week has seen ground broken on the development of The Lodge, a dedicated on-site wedding ceremony venue styled on a New England Barn. The Lodge will also act as the gateway to the Estate currently being developed. As part of their overall masterplan, Ballygarry House are working in collaboration with Kerry County Council to link into Ballyseedy Woods with two bridges. “We will have numerous pathways for guests to cycle, run or walk, with benches for a quick rest or just to watch the world go by. As part of our sustainability focus we will neutralise our carbon emissions & treat all waste water simultaneously with our new integrated Wetlands that is ready for the busy season ahead” Padraig mentioned.

Padraig also commented, “Over the past few years as an industry we have had to become more conscious of our environment and how we treat it as large producers, so we have decided to focus on the sustainability of our business. We are complementing our current offering with the planting
of fifteen acres of native woodlands, increasing our bee hives, creating 5km of meandering walkways and aiming to become carbon neutral in the coming year”.

The last part of the five year plan at Ballygarry House is to build a Thermal Garden as a new addition to Nádúr Spa. With three outdoor hot tubs, a plunge pool, saunas, a steam room, a salt room, seaweed baths, a one hundred metre lake joined with a wildflower meadow & our bee hives. This will be coupled with twenty one new guest rooms to manage increased demand.

Padraig added “Too many times I’ve seen fragmented developments with no long term vision in our industry. We are setting our plan through collaboration with Kerry County Council, Fáilte Ireland, market trends, demands, future direction for the industry and our stunning location. With a total investment of over €5 million in the Estate development plan Ballygarry House is confident of cementing its position as one of Ireland’s top hotels.

• See the World’s Best Luxury Hotels here.

Undoubtedly, interesting and exciting prospects lie ahead for this progressive & environmentally conscious development at Ballygarry.

Madrid, Spain, June 3, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Telefónica and the UNWTO renew their commitment to cooperate to promote tourism through sustainable and competitive development based on digitalisation and the application of new technologies such as cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), etc.

Restarting tourism and fostering opportunities is the basis of this new partnership. As such, the UN specialised agency for tourism and Telefónica will continue to work together, globally to foster global and regional innovation ecosystems; provide technical support to initiatives aimed at accelerating recovery; and drive the adoption of new technologies.

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

UNWTO’s partnership with Telefónica builds global and local ecosystems to support innovation and accelerate the digital transformation of tourism

This global framework agreement was ratified by Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and María Jesús Almazor, CEO of Cybersecurity and Cloud at Telefónica Tech, and is framed within five major areas of action: digital entrepreneurship; digital education and training; application of new technologies (big data, artificial intelligence, etc.); digital economy and, with special emphasis on the development of rural tourism.

Speaking at the event, Mr Pololikashvili said: “The restart of tourism will need new ideas and the best talent. We need to support innovators and entrepreneurs who can transform our sector. UNWTO’s partnership with Telefónica builds global and local ecosystems to support innovation and accelerate the digital transformation of tourism.”

For her part, María Jesús Almazor, stressed that “technology increases the productivity and resilience of businesses. The implementation of digital solutions in the tourism sector makes it possible to develop a differential, personalised and secure tourism offer that is more focused on behavioural patterns and the management of spaces, which will undoubtedly contribute to the recovery of a key activity for the economy in general”.

Common objectives, projects carried out

In this sense, and as a result of the previous collaboration agreement, Telefónica Tech and the UNWTO carried out an exhaustive analysis of the tourism received by the more than 150 member States, which consisted of the design and implementation of four dashboards so that the information could be consulted by regions, countries and even at a global level.

These visualisation tools are available within the UNWTO Tourism Data Dashboard which allows better access and understanding of key global tourism indicators (origin and destination flows, accommodation supply and demand, employment and seasonality) helping destinations to plan and manage their products more effectively and even improve tourism flows in a context of new health and safety protocols being implemented in response to COVID-19. At a time when market intelligence is key to recovery, this analysis also allows us to understand behavioural patterns to better address some of the challenges facing tourism and to draw relevant conclusions that influence decision-making.

Similarly, both organisations will continue to collaborate in identifying disruptive projects that contribute to the sustainability of the sector, as was done in the UNWTO SDGs Global Startup Competition, which brought together more than 10,000 participants from 138 countries. The winners are being analysed by Telefónica, specifically through Wayra, for future opportunities based on their technology. Specifically, work will be carried out in the field of tourism’s contribution to rural development.

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

The digital transformation that the tourism sector is undergoing to increase its competitiveness and resilience needs to be brought closer to the people who carry it out, and it is necessary and urgent to train them so that they can address these challenges. For this reason, during the previous alliance, more than 1,200 people were trained in digital skills and entrepreneurship, including entrepreneurs and government officials from different countries through training sessions in the UNWTO Tourism Tech Adventures innovation forums, webinars and Acceleration programmes. In this new stage, the aim is to promote this type of training actions to reach more people and companies in the sector and thus leave no one behind in the digitisation process.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, June 3, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / Members of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Middle East have agreed to work on the creation of harmonized protocols to support the resumption of regional travel in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

The 13 Members of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Middle East met in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the day after the United Nations specialised agency for tourism celebrated the official opening of a UNWTO Regional Office in the Middle East. High on the agenda was adopting a coordinated approach to developing unified protocols for safe and responsible travel throughout the region.

The UNWTO Middle East Member States have agreed to work together on core initiatives intended to harmonize travel protocols and reinvigorate regional travel through:

1. Developing a common framework to reopen international borders;
2. Creating approved Public Health Corridors between destinations to promote specific tourism experiences and relaunch hotspot tourism destinations;
3. Implementing a common digital health solution to facilitate travellers’ experience through interoperability and blockchain as technologies to help develop common standards; and
4. Working to implement the IATA-UNWTO destination tracker, a monitoring system to track health data, regulations and movements across borders and to protect the health and welfare of the region’s 450 million inhabitants.

Nations around the world are struggling to overcome the pandemic that has such a devastating impact on the global tourism sector

Historic week for Middle East tourism

UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, presented his report to the Regional Commission. The report outlined how UNWTO had worked with all Members and Affiliate Members across the region, most notably supporting them in their unique and shared response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This agreement opens a new chapter in regional tourism across the Middle East and sets a standard of collaboration for other regions,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary General. “Nations around the world are struggling to overcome the pandemic that has such a devastating impact on the global tourism sector. The more countries seek to follow an independent path out of the crisis, the longer it will take to rebuild the millions of livelihoods affected. It is only through unity and collaboration across borders that we can move beyond these dark times and make the benefits of tourism available to the world once more.

His Excellency Ahmed bin Aqil Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also addressed the Regional Commission, held during an historic week for the Kingdom, UNWTO and tourism in the Middle East. He said: “Saudi Arabia is proud to have played a role in this critical announcement, which will create a new path forward for the Middle East tourism sector, not only in recovering from the coronavirus pandemic but in building a new regional culture of collaboration and coordination for tourism across the Middle East.”

Against the backdrop of the landmark opening of the new UNWTO Regional Office in Riyadh nominations and elections to the statutory organs of UNWTO and their subsidiary bodies were also held, fulfilling UNWTO’s commitment to protocol even in challenging times. Egypt was voted to serve as the Chair of the Regional Commission for the Middle East for 2021-23, following on from the United Arab Emirates whose two year-term will end at the upcoming UNWTO General Assembly in Marrakesh in October. Additionally, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia put forward its candidacy to host World Tourism Day when it rotates back to the Middle East region in 2023. Member States will be asked to ratify the candidacy at the General Assembly.

World Bank collaboration

• Read all the latest UNWTO News and Updates here.

At the same time, UNWTO continues to advance another key priority, promoting investment in tourism. In Riyadh, UNWTO announced a new landmark collaboration with the World Bank Group and the Saudi Ministry of Tourism. A new Memorandum of Understanding will see the three organizations collaborate on the activation of the Tourism Community Initiative and work towards the establishment of a global Multi-Donor Trust Fund exclusively devoted to tourism.

Focus on education

UNWTO and the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to scale up the UNWTO Tourism Online Academy, which counts on the support of IE University. The main objective will be the creation of 50 online open courses available in five languages, with leading academic institutions providing specific content to train and certify more than 30,000 professionals across the Middle East.

Macao, Maco SAR, June 2, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The Macao Grand Prix Museum was officially inaugurated today (1 June). Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, accompanied by Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, officiated the inaugural ceremony.

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, and Director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, officiated the lion eye-dotting ceremony and joined other guests for group photo in front of the Macao Grand Prix Museum. Afterwards, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng officiated the inaugural ceremony, accompanied by Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong.

• For a comprehensive travel guide on Macao, It’s Happening in Macao, go to VisitMacao.org

At the inaugural ceremony, MGTO Director Senna Fernandes expressed that MGTO commenced the expansion construction project of the Macao Grand Prix Museum in 2017, towards the goal to offer local and visiting museumgoers an innovative, fun-filled, educational and interactive journey into the world of the Macau Grand Prix’s motorsport culture. Upon completion of expansion construction this March, the Museum has partly come into trial operation. During this period, MGTO strove to refine and optimize the Museum after hearing opinions from different organizations and residents.

Today, the Macao Grand Prix Museum officially opens to the public in a brand-new design. She hopes that the Museum, as a sophisticated confluence of history, sports, popular science, technology, culture, creativity and barrier-free accessibility, can deliver an inclusive experience of educational entertainment, leisure and learning for all. The Museum will gradually enrich its future calendar with parent-and-child interactive workshops and other activities to elevate the “tourism + sports” synergy.

During the ceremony, MGTO presented the Museum’s promotional video and making-of video about its expansion construction. Following that, Chief Executive visited different floors of the Museum for a full picture of the exhibits and facilities.

The guests at the ceremony include Chief-of-Office of the Chief Executive’s Office, Hoi Lai Fong, Chief of Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Ku Mei Leng, MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, President of Sports Bureau, Pun Weng Kun, Director of Government Information Bureau, Ines Chan, and President of the Board of Directors of the Automobile General Association of Macao-China, Chong Coc Veng, among others.

During trial operation since late March up to May this year, the Museum has admitted close to 12,000 visitors, among which there are 33 delegations from 140 entities/organizations from the tourism sector, media, its counterparts and government entities.

The collected questionnaires revealed that visitors deemed the exhibits and guided tour service most satisfactory at the Museum, while the most popular interactive games are G-Force Challenge, MotoVR Race Experience and Pit Garage.

In addition to the Macao Highlight Tours launched recently by the travel trade, MGTO plans to partner with e-commerce companies to spotlight the prestigious international motorsport event — Macao Grand Prix and the brand-new tourism product – Macao Grand Prix Museum via different platforms.

• For a comprehensive travel guide on Macao, It’s Happening in Macao, go to VisitMacao.org

At present, the maximal capacity of the Museum is 2,200 visitors per day. In line with the measures of pandemic prevention, after the official inauguration in June, the Museum opens a daily quota of 1,100 visitors for the public and sets a maximal capacity of 284 visitors per time slot (i.e. two hours). The Macao Grand Prix Museum rigorously follows the pandemic prevention guidelines issued by Health Bureau. Visitors are required to wear masks throughout their visit, have their temperature checked and present Macau health code of the day upon entry.

From today onward, the Museum sells its admission tickets at full price. Timed-entry tickets can be purchased 30 days in advance and up to one day before the visit on the official website, while immediate entry tickets are available for sale at the Museum. The opening hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. The Museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Phuket, Thailand, June 2, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pleased to confirm that Phuket will be the first destination in Thailand to reopen to vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine requirements from 1 July, 2021.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, said, “All of us at the Tourism Authority of Thailand share the excitement and anticipation of everyone in Phuket in the preparation to welcome back foreign tourists in the not-too-distant future. From 1 July, 2021, vaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed to visit Phuket without quarantine, so the countdown starts now to the reopening of Phuket!”

Throughout the month of June 2021, the TAT Newsroom will be doing our utmost to compile accurate information at the current time to inform each and every one regarding Phuket’s preparations to safely open to foreign tourists.

Our website will be updated regularly as soon as further information becomes available. We encourage all to revisit this website periodically to stay up to date with the constantly changing situations.

In addition to information on the reopening of Phuket, the TAT Newsroom will continue to be committed to supporting international media by providing the latest press releases, festivals and events, other Thai travel news, as well as compelling Thailand travel features and videos.

The TAT’s offices in Thailand and around the world are also ready to help and act as coordination centres for foreign tourists wanting any updates on the COVID-19 situation in Thailand, as well as on the reopening of Phuket.

“TAT would like to remind all of you to stay safe this challenging time, prepare for the time when travel and tourism returns, and we can all enjoy safe travel with our beloved family and friends,” Mr. Yuthasak concluded.

In support of the hospitality sector in Phuket, Travelindex has announced the launch of its “Top 25 Restaurants Phuket” guide on July 1st, with the support of TAT Amazing Thailand. This restaurant guide on Phuket is part of the internationally acclaimed Top 25 Series published by Travelindex and will contribute to promote Phuket as a safe destination, in particular for gastronomy tourists.

Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, June 2, 2021 / TRAVELINDEX / As South Africa returns to stricter lockdown followed the appearance of the South African President, H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa spelled out the worrying Covid situation on many international news channels. South Africa’s latest announcements comes just as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) sees Goma facing the catastrophic effects of the volcano, Mali with a coup d’etat and being evicted from the West African Bloc ‘ECOWAS’ among so many other challenges facing the continent.

“It is very clear that as the continent makes one step forward, it is pushed to retreat by two or three steps back. These challenges are hurting and we say we must stand strong even under these challenging times” said Alain St.Ange, former Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Minister of the Seychelles.

• For the African Tourism portal , Connecting Africa to the World, go to TourismAfrica.org

From South Africa the news broke out saying:- “In an effort to counter the increase in the number of Covid-19 infections in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the country will be placed on Adjusted Alert Level 2 with effect from today (31 May 2021). The President announced in a national address on 30 May 2021, that the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 has recommended that South Africa urgently implement further restrictions. The new restrictions include: An evening curfew between 23:00 – 04:00, Non-essential establishments such as restaurants and bars must close at 22:00 to allow staff to travel before curfew, All gatherings are limited to 100 people indoors and 250 people outdoors, Where a venue is too small to accommodate these people, then no more than 50% of the venue capacity can be used, Funerals remain restricted to 100 people, while after-funeral gatherings remain prohibited, Night vigils, after- funeral gatherings and ‘after-tears’ gatherings are not allowed, It remains mandatory for every person to wear a face mask that covers their nose and mouth at all times when in public spaces. It is a criminal offence not to do so”.

From the Volcano in Goma of Congo DRC the elected Member Hon Elvis Muturi wa Bashara personally spoke to me and updated me on the situation on the ground. Hon Muturi who resides in Goma sees the need for a call of action to give a break to the affected population especially as a second volcano warning is being discussed for Mount Nyiragongo and Mount Murara in the Viruga National Park. Geoffrey Lipman, the Creative Disruption Architect at The SUNx Program is one who is leading the call to action. This disaster arrived as a second change of Government in Mali took place pushing the ‘ECOWAS’ to react and evict Mali from its West Africa Body.

• For the African Tourism portal , Connecting Africa to the World, go to TourismAfrica.org

“The time is now for Africa to move forward as one. It is not a time for distractions and ‘trial and error’ actions. Things may get much worse before it gets better and people will suffer. No one has a monopoly on ideas and everyone must be heard and invited to participate in the rebuilding of their country and this immaterial of the colour of their skin, political affiliation, religious belief or sexual difference. The time is now to PLACE SQUARE PEGS IN SQUARE HOLES AND ROUND PEGS IN ROUND HOLES. Let us be united and give Africa a break. Leaders must be brave and call on adversaries of the past to sit together to tackle the way forward as one” said Alain St.Ange, head of his Saint Ange Tourism Consultancy and former Minister of Tourism from the Seychelles from his Jakarka base where he is pushing for new ways for South-South Cooperation through FORSEAA (Forum of Small Medium Economic Africa Asean).